Noah Clarke was born June 11, 1979 in Laverne, California. The ninth round, 250th overall selection of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Clarke played junior hockey with Des Moines of the USHL before moving on to Colorado College in 99-2000.

An offensively gifted forward, Clarke played four seasons at Colorado College tallying 176 points (63-113-176) before making his professional debut with the AHLs Manchester Monarchs in the latter stages of the 2002-03 season.

In 2003-04, Clarke spent the majority of the year in Manchester while seeing his first action with the Kings later that same season. In his first season with Manchester, Clarke was named onto the 2004 AHL All-Rookie Team after tallying 51 points in 71 games played. He would go on to split the next three seasons between the Kings and their AHL affiliate in Manchester before signing as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils in 2007.